Trap: My Italy were unlucky Tuesday 4 January, 2005
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Former Italy boss Giovanni Trapattoni insists he has no regrets about the Azzurri’s disastrous Euro 2004 campaign.
Trap was heavily criticised after his side failed to qualify from their group, but he insists his squad were simply unfortunate.
"We had everything that was needed to do well in Portugal as we had at the World Cup. My conscience is clear as it was after Japan and Korea," he told ‘Il Giornale’.
"The fact is that we were without Francesco Totti (who was suspended for spitting) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will never score a goal like that again. We had potential but we were unlucky."
The veteran tactician was already put on trial before the tournament after ignoring Alberto Gilardino, Pippo Inzaghi and Roberto Baggio
"I have no regrets about not including Gilardino because it would have been madness to leave out Christian Vieri," he added.
"Time has shown that I was right to omit Inzaghi because of his fitness problems. Baggio? I would have had to revolutionise the team to accommodate him."
One of the few positive notes for the Azzurri during the tournament was the explosion of Roma youngster Antonio Cassano.
"He has class, talent and the touches of a champion. If he joins up again with Fabio Capello at Juventus then he will mature as a man and a player," noted Trap.
The now Benfica boss was shown the door by the Italian Football Federation in July as Marcello Lippi stepped in.
"He’s the right man for the job and I’m sure that he will lead Italy to the 2006 World Cup in Germany," Trap noted.
"He’s revolutionised the squad but I would have done exactly the same too."